Keeping the Faith

So some kids have bought the old DV8 space in SOMA and plan to open a new club there sometime soon (a few days this week for the Summer Music Conference, and then some official opening date once it's fixed up right). They say it's gonna be called Temple. Two floors, four sound systems, restaurant, VJ booths — the works. Now me, I've given up on dancing since my legs was amputated, but this sort of thing, I gotta check out. So I call up this guy Aaron Parrish. Says he's the director of marketing or something.

"So what's this about trees on the third floor?" I ask.

"Actually," he replies, "when [former owner Lawrence "Dr. Winkie" Lin] moved out, he took all those trees with him. But we picked up a bunch of new trees that are being moved up there, and then we have a whole new shipment of trees coming in here pretty soon. We've got some birds of paradise, corn trees, ficus — just a plethora of foliage."

"Sounds like it's gonna be a jungle in there. So how about the Keith Harings he supposedly left?"

"We have one somewhere in the building. I haven't seen it, but I know Haring actually did the original posters and artwork for the opening of DV8."

"Any original Sanrio or Walter Keane left behind?" I do loves me some artwork.

"No, I don't think he owned any."

"Fucking philistine. Anyway, what do you remember about DV8?"

"I had only been to it once, underage, like everybody else," says Parrish. "That's what everyone says about their first experience at DV8: 'Oh, I remember it was like a rave, and I was 18 and I snuck in.' And it's kind of my story, too. I was there once and, um, I barely remember it."

"So for all you know, DV8 may never have existed."

"Oh, no! Some of the early promoters have actual footage from their events," he insists. "In fact, we're asking them and anybody in the San Francisco area that has any kind of memorabilia to come forward, because we'd really like to put together an homage wall documenting the space's history. E-mail is best: aaron@templesf.com."

"Is Temple following in or breaking with the DV8 tradition?"

"I don't know if there's a way to build on the tradition. We're in the year 2006 and the space has been closed since 2000. We're looking to establish ourselves as a new legend in a space that already is legendary."

The cell cuts out, and I says to myself, "Self, I guess you need faith to build any Temple, right?"